More on the port terminal bru-ha-ha

Dubai Ports World Homepage


Here is an article claiming Frank Gaffney of The Center for Security Policy was the first nationally syndicated columnist to break the port terminal story and push it as a bad idea.

Here is his Feb 21, 2006 commentary for the Washington Times. I don't know how long the piece will stay up.

And here is an earlier piece.

Commentary

Perhaps I am stupid, or at best naive, but I really don't understand what the hubub is about on this story. The Chinese operate terminals on the west coast, and on both ends of the canal zone in Panama. No one has complained about these deals, or the fact that most of our port terminal facilities are run by foreign companies and have been for quite some time.

It is hurtful to me that the "right" has mostly led the dogpile on the issue. This has been an ugly snowball of a story that can have no good ending for all of us.
Our reactions will confirm suspicions, grounded or not, that we are a xenophobic culture and cannot be trusted to practice what we preach. This deal is a part of our free market economy. If we are so afraid of "things" that might come in through our port terminals, then we should nationalize those facilities. And that would be a boondoggle that would make Social Security look like a good idea.

It is my belief that the President will loose this debate for the following reasons:

1) His inaction on our border problems with Mexico have left him extremely vulnerable on the issue of trust and may result in a Democrat victory in 2008 unless Congress steps up and forces him to act to secure our borders and do someting about illegal immigrants. If he lets these people go, then we should at least stop prosecuting minor crimes committed by citizens if we are going to let non-citizens go free. We are close to achieving Critical Mass on this issue.

2) People have gotten it that Islam is our enemy in this war called World War IV. Only thing is, we have committed a sweeping generalization and lumped all those who practice Islam into one group. All these moderate or liberal Muslims are as apostate from their religion as moderate or liberal Christians are. That is a harsh statement, but one I believe is truth, and this truth hurts. They may as well be practising different religions.

3) The media is constantly shaping the debate by using misleading words to describe the deal. We are selling no ports. Only a minority of terminal facilities within those ports...Something like 24 out of 800 plus terminals in 6 Ports. Normal people I have talked to about this cannot get past this argument. I even went a round with Matt Mittan of The Take A Stand radio show on WWNC AM570 on Friday afternoon. It was this point I tried to convey, and I don't think he believed me, but I hope he takes it into consideration.

Wow! I didn't expect to go on this long, I got kinda wound up. On to other things...

Battlestar Galactica

The episode "Downloaded" was, I thought, very well done and once more, these creative storytellers have chosen a direction I would have not even considered.
I also think I know how these guys come up with their storylines...Brain Storming. There is no other explaination I can come up with. I'd like to see some of the stuff that didn't make it.
There are only two episodes left this season. Time has certainly flown.